A book 'n stuff blog

Canada Reads 2012 Debates – Day 2

After the debates on day one of Canada Reads 2012 many were holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Day two dawned with a new attitude, or at least a new debating style that didn’t include name calling and insults. The discussions were indeed lively, but much more respectful and book oriented. The first question of the day was:

“Which of the remaining four did you find most relatable?”

Strangely enough most of the panellists agreed that Something Fierce was the book that they related to the most. The Game won some ground on that point but Something Fierce was clearly the top dog in relate-ability. The Tiger also took a few hits in this segment due to information overload. Alan Thicke said he had learned everything he would ever need to know about cultivating pin nuts from the book, The Tiger. But, also said that he didn’t relate to the book as much as others because there were too many characters and too much unrelated information. Arlene Dickinson agreed, saying she had a hard time relating to the book and found the possibility of voicing a tiger’s thoughts almost impossible to believe.

After some heartfelt discussion Jian Ghomeshi (the host) asked why none of the panellists had really touch on the book On A Cold Road. The majority consensus was that it was a good read, well written, enjoyable but was found to be too “light” and “disconnected” to relate in any real way with the characters.

The second question of the day’s debates was:

“Which book do you think is the best written?”

Again the panellists tended to agree on which book they thought was best written. Something Fierce and The Game stole the show for this segment, while The Tiger and On A Cold Road we criticized for excessive digression from the story and being too ‘commercialized’, respectfully.

The lively, and respectful, discussion continued until the time had run it’s course. It was fairly easy to predict which book would be eliminated, but anything was possible. As the ballots were read, everyone held their breath. Then the other shoe dropped. The Tiger, by John Vaillant, championed by Anne-France Goldwater, was eliminated.

Was the book eliminated because of the comments made yesterday? I really don’t think so, this is a panel of well educated, well respected individuals and I think they voted on the merits of the book. As the majority of them stated, it was well written but the many many digressions from the story did not work.

So there you have it. At the end of Day 2 there are three books left on the table.

The Game by Ken Dryden – championed by Alan Thicke

On A Cold Road by Dave Bidini – championed by Stacey McKenzie

Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre – championed by Shad

What book will be eliminated tomorrow? Who knows! The book hubby and I figure will win the day is still on the table, we’ll have to wait and see if it’s still there after tomorrow’s debates. Bring on Day 3!